It feels like everyone has heard the same old lines of “take some time off and heal your mind” or “stay away from things that threaten your mental health,” and a bunch of similar sounding statements. Ironically, a lot of people just like, repost and praise statements like these without actually considering that these words apply to them as well. So many people walk around not knowing their mental or emotional triggers, until it’s too late and they just explode from keeping so much inside.
A person’s trigger could be something as little as being pushed around while playing with friends, or a joke that seems funny to others, or even just looking at a picture or a meme on the internet. All of a sudden, this person goes off on his friends for apparently no reason at all, or withdraws into himself and refuses contact with anyone, or breaks down and becomes inconsolable, and other people look at him and label him as being “sensitive,” “easily offended” or “dramatic” without understanding why. And when all is resolved, this person just moves on like nothing happened and doesn’t acknowledge his trigger until the next breakdown.
Sometimes, we play this off by saying “I was just having a bad day” and some ladies blame may it on their hormones because they are in “that time of the month.” The fact remains, however, that episodes like these will keep happening until you sit down and actually try to figure out what exactly caused your meltdown, be it a minor or major one. You have to realise that everybody has triggers, and they differ from person to person, and that it’s okay to have these because they’re part of what make you human.
Identifying these threats to your mental health is a vital part of attaining total wellness, no matter how inconsequential they may seem. Confronting these threats and letting go of those you can, irrespective of the form that they come in (people, places, objects, etc.), and how difficult it will be is another crucial part of this process. If you cannot do it on your own, then go see a professional (therapist), and do not let anyone, including yourself, make you feel bad about needing help to become a better person.
Protecting your mental health isn’t just reserved for people who have been diagnosed with one condition or the other; it is for each and every one of us, regardless of how much of a ‘hard guy’ you think you are. Acknowledging that you also have moments when you feel intense, unexplainable sadness, or that you have moments when you feel worthless or less than you are doesn’t make you any less you! It just means that you’re human and you need to persevere and push through those moments because there is always a light at the end of the tunnel.
So cool!